Karthik M

102118032

Chemical engineering.

Q1)

Bhopal Gas Tragedy was one of the grave disasters that will remain etched in the history of India and
mankind. Just the name is enough to send shivers through the spine of everyone. It was an event that
shook mankind to its very foundation. The physical and mental trauma that people endured and their
future generations are going through this day is truly devastating. Though Bhopal will always be
remembered for the infamous leak, we will investigate it with a wider scope.

The Bhopal Disaster, also called The Bhopal Gas tragedy, was a fatal gas leak on the night of 2nd
December 1984 at the Union Carbide Pesticide plant in Bhopal. It is considered to be the worst industrial
disaster ever. Over 500,000 have been affected either directly or indirectly by the MIC gas leak.

India back in the '80s was in severe economic distress. Poverty and unemployment were at their peak.
This lead to the government attracting many companies with lesser regulations, tax breaks etc. The Dow
company knowing that Indian safety standards were not up to the mark, exploited them putting millions
at risk. Ideally, they should have maintained the same safety protocol as their previous plants in the US.
The exploitation of developing nations by Dow and many others need to be looked at.

The Bhopal gas tragedy has criminal safety negligence written all over it. Rules were flouted, workers
concerns suppressed, and inspectors and officials were bribed to turn a blind eye at hazardous safety
practices that were in place. Three minor implant leaks had occurred between 1981-1983 were over 100
workers suffered from heat burns due to leakage of various gases. The plant was previously inspected by
its parent company Dow international which filed a report citing the malpractices and the potential
calamity that could happen due to this. Despite numerous potential indicators, the company paid no
attention and swept it all under the rug. The continued negligence and flagrant disobedience are
something the company is yet to answer for.

The management's was more concerned about exploiting the set up to attain maximum profits, thereby
throwing all rules and regulations to air. Lethal gases such as Phosgene, MMA, CCl4 were stored in
containers with pressure exceeding permitted limits to decrease the cost of storage. This lead to
countless leaks which were covered up. The MIC tanks were supposed to be filled up to 50% and
maintained at a temperature of 4' C. The company increased production capacity but instead of building
a new tank the increased the temperature and increased holding up to 82% to cut cost leading to
excessive pressure and the burst. Various safety devices like the flare tower, gas scrubbers and vents
were non-functional. Cutting vital safety measures in the name of cost-cutting is bewildering.

Every ethics charter or code of ethics put the safety, health and welfare of the public as it's the primary
goal. The UCI plant paid no heed to this and circumvented all checks and balances using unethical means
to get permission to construct a plant that manufactured industrial and potentially lethal chemicals in
such a densely populated region is a major ethical question that needs to be raised. The possibility of
catastrophic loss of life if any disaster was looked over blatantly.
Another ethical code all companies and especially those producing lethal products must adhere to is
"Perform services only in areas of their competence". This means only qualified and well-trained
workers are to take up the vital responsibilities in a plant. The leaked was instigated by the washout of a
pipe that had not been sealed properly by an inexperienced worker whose training and qualifications
were well below standards. On investigation, it was found they hired indigenous inexperienced and
unqualified labour workers to reduce costs. To make matters worse, they cut down the training period
from 6 months to a mere 15 days. These were "justified" by the management as cost-cutting to senior
leadership. The erosion of safety practices coupled with the untrained workers working on machines
that were overloaded was a disaster in the making. Husbands, fathers, wives, mothers, brothers and
sisters were lost due to the shameful miserliness of the management.

Every company is expected to be honest and open about its operations. All companies are required by
law to declare to the citizens living in the region about potentially harmful products and the possible
effects they would endure due to long term emissions, pollution and danger of unforeseen leakage or
malfunctioning. The company continuously deceived the public about the potential dangers and many of
its workers as well.

Disaster management is one of the cornerstones of ethical practices for businesses. Right after
Chernobyl disaster management was taken seriously and all companies and to revamp their safety
practices and bring in proper guidelines and resources to manage a disaster. The plant did not even have
a disaster management team let alone guidelines. This lead to haphazard measures; thus, countless
additional lives were lost. The hospitals were struggling to find even patients to sit, let alone be treated.
The number of doctors and supplies were so minimal they ran out within the first 4 hours. The hospital
capacity was approximately 400 patients. The doctors were also not informed about the right treatment
procedures despite the company knowing the medicines and procedures to be carried out when
exposed. The blood of countless lives lost is on the hands of the irresponsible company.

The worst part of all this is the company still failed to act ethically and tried to cover up the whole
incident and keep it under wraps to keep the company name intact. They tried all means to from blatant
lies to blaming workers and all stalling tactics until they were down on their knees when the press and
media decided to cover the incident bringing it to the centre stage on an international arena.

The disaster serves as a reminder of the price we paid for lack of due diligence. Businesses have since
taken on a more active role and view themselves as part of the society, and its wellbeing is in their
interest. The lessons learnt will hopefully bring to an end the blatant disregard for rules and unethical
practices. I want to end with a quote that hope will turn out wrong in the future.

"The greatest threat to mankind is mankind itself."

Q2

Respected leaders are those who are not afraid to take risks. They are bold enough to change the
conversation and seamlessly challenge the status quo for the betterment of the organization and
their competitive advantage. They can anticipate when a paradigm shift is in order and are
courageous enough to act on it. Vision is something that separates the good and great leaders.

Leaders do not hesitate to make the most difficult decisions and will put themselves out on the
frontline to lead by example. They gravitate towards what many might see as a "leap of faith"
and willingly accept the challenge. As a leader they are not only in charge of the task but also the
people who do the task. The primary characteristic of a leader is someone with empathy and
motivating mentality.

Leaders welcome constructive dialogue from all regardless of hierarchy or rank. Leaders trust
themselves enough to live their personal brand and serve as powerful role models to others. Their
presence creates a long-lasting impact that leaves a positive mark on the organization and the
people they serve. Very often, the true impact of great leaders is felt only long after their demise.
Great leaders always have an impact that crosses the leash of time and remains etched in the
memory of all.

One such leader who I personally respect immensely is Nelson Mandella.

He served 27 years in prison, in South Africa. The prime years of his life were in 10 ft*10ft
prison cell where he was beaten, starved, humiliated but battled for a country that he loved with
all his heart. He believed never to give up and never give in to hate. He always firmly believed
the most powerful weapon is the ones' own mental tenacity and the ability to sacrifice.
He was fighting against Apartheid but also fighting for: a better world where freedom, dignity
and justice of all prevailed. A world where we looked beyond race, caste, creed, religion and
truly stayed united and strived for a better tomorrow.

Nelson Mandela dedicated his life to the fight against Apartheid – a policy which kept black and
white South Africans apart and denied the blacks the right to vote. People of colour were abused
and exploited, and Mandella could not take it any further.

An excerpt from the Rivonia Trial when Mandela testified is:

"During my lifetime, I have dedicated myself to the African people's struggle. I have fought
against black and white domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free
society………. It is an ideal for which I am prepared to die".

However, Mandela's fight against Apartheid will always be remembered as he was more
concerned about the collective African society, rather than only his people or himself. His
willingness to sacrifice his life for a cause he believed was truly Gandhi-esque.

A great leader, moral world leader as Mandela became, is seen, rightly and in awe, as one who
has put the lives of others, his people, first, before any life of his own. All this means that such a
man belongs to his people in an emotional dimension as well.

Mandela did this uncompromisingly and with not a morsel of regret. For example, little is known
of the immense sorrow he endured due to imprisonment, he was faced with the fact that the life
with the woman he so loved and longed for was no longer possible. His children were all grown
up and for them he was just a vague figure; however, this is what motivated him to support the
poor, but ambitious children of South Africa.

Mandela being one of the vital pillars of the apartheid struggle, while imprisoned, he was not
able to attend his son's funeral or attend his daughter's wedding. Whatever came his way he took
it in his stride to be able to voice his country men's problems. He viewed himself as a part of
South Africa and his son jokingly said, "Dad has now become the Father of the Nation rather
than my father".

When he was released in 1990, he was elected as the president of the African National Congress.
In 1993, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end Apartheid.
Mandela's legislative achievements might not be remembered, but the struggle against Apartheid
that he fought for has made a huge difference in South Africa.

Despite the frailty of his health, he made a huge effort to support the affected in the Burundi war.
Proving yet again, that his country was the most important to him and he would always put that
first.
Despite his unfortunate demise his impact still lingers on today. The Black Lives Matters protest
fighting for equal treatment and opportunities in the USA still takes inspiration from Mr
Mandela's struggle. He gave the belief to people of colour all over the world that they were no
less in any aspect and should command the same respect and treatment as all other citizens do.

They are passionate, impact-driven people. Their presence is felt when they walk into the room;
their reputation and their track-record precede them. Great leaders never truly die; Mandella still
lives in the heart of countless people who look up to him as a beacon of hope and source of
inspiration.
"A leader is someone who knows the way, shows the way, goes the way."

John Maxwell

Q 3)

The situation presents a dilemma as old as time itself. Do you follow the letter of the law to the T or do
you mitigate the aftermath of an activity that was unethical or illegal. The situation as presented needs
to be further examined, and the context needs to be comprehended to take decisive action. I will walk
through my thought process, justifying my intentions and actions below.

As the head of the accounting department, you must make sure no unethical practices happen and if
they do take stringent action on the concerned party. The clerk here has definitely done something that
is felonious and illicit. The deed should be dealt with an iron fist.

Before deciding on one of the two steps, I will first gather the evidence and hold a one on one meeting
with the clerk. I will give him a chance to come clean and reveal his mistake. Then I will ask for the
reason he did so. Considering a clerk is a modest paying job, and I needed to know the background or his
side of the story. Did he have a mother or wife who needed extensive medical care or was struggling
with debt issues. If I felt he was genuine and was showing remorse(I would also check his track record to
know whether this was a one-off incident or a regular occurrence), I would make him return the money
he owed the company over the period with a reasonable time frame. I would then go on to relieve him
of his duty without attracting any unwarranted attention. I would let him go and pursue his livelihood
elsewhere. When you are firing someone, it affects not only him but also his wife, children and family
whose livelihood is solely dependent on him. The intent of punishment is not to make one suffer but
one realize. The company image would not be the key justification for taking this course of action,
though. I would go on to hold an internal meeting with all members and tell them about the instance
and how we have a zero-tolerance policy towards illegal activities if I did make it a legal issue that would
drag on for months if not years and would bring his family to the road. He would also not a chance at a
future job being an ex-convict.

On the flip side if I found that he had a history of such activities and he was doing so merely out of
selfishness and showed no genuine remorse, I would have no mercy and hold him accountable for his
flagrant actions and have him handed over to the police for deserving punishment in the eyes of the
law. I would proceed by taking formal action from the company as well. I would bring it to the notice of
fellow employees as well as setting a precedent no unethical activities will be tolerated. This would be a
warning for all the other workers as well. The bedrock of any institution is the trust of the public.
Especially a government organization needs to adhere to the highest standards of moral, ethical codes
and laws. The culprit needs to face the repercussions for his actions. Otherwise, he will go to another
company and swindle there as well.

As a person, I have always been keen on giving people a second chance and trying to be empathetic as a
leader. It is human to err and divine to correct oneself. There are pros and cons to every decision you
make, and the circumstances are what help you decide in the end.